"Last year was a tough one for me. As I suffered through a bunch of injuries, I realized that some of the things that always come easily to me and were always fun had started to become a struggle. The one thing I always said to myself was that when baseball started to feel more like a job, it would be time to move forward .... So really it was months ago that I realized that this season would most likely be my last. … I know it in my heart. The 2014 season will be my last year playing professional baseball."

Jeter said that he will now pursue both business and philanthropic ventures, as well as work on starting a family of his own.

"Now it is time for the next chapter. I have new dreams and aspirations, and I want new challenges," he wrote. "There are things I want to do in business and in philanthropic work, in addition to focusing more on my personal life and starting a family of my own. And I want the ability to move at my own pace, see the world and finally have a summer vacation."